Fall as They May
by Ican'tthinkofadecentpenname
Summary: Artemis's father is physically abusive, and Wally comes to the rescue. Fluff happens after events in Bereft.


**I am calling them Wartemis now. Try and stop me. Not nearly enought Wartemis in the archive lately, so I'm adding some for my enjoyment. Starts off a little slow, and doesn't have disgusting amounts of fluff. But I feel like Artemis is "grungy-er" then fluff, at least in this case. Enough of my chatter, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, Pokemon, or Hopscotch. I do own glasses though, and a jar of Nutella...**

**

* * *

**

Artemis never liked her...his..._Eric's_ house. She'd always have to visit since her parents split. Eric, her...her...Half of her chromosomes. When she was little she would innocently be playing hopscotch or trying to understand the text to Pokemon: Green, he'd always find a reason to yell at her.

"Come inside! Don't touch that! It's not a toy!"

She put up with it until she was ten. Then she found out that she could fight back. That she could say "NO!" or "I'm not doing anything wrong!"

And then, at 14, her father couldn't fight back with words anymore. He couldn't get her to behave and follow his instructions for missions with his vocal chords and his fluency of the English language. So he used his force instead.

Artemis is away from him, far away. He's not coming back. But she still finds herself reliving the worst night.

She refused to. Absolutely refused. No. No. No. No. NO! He was bigger then her, and he knew her weaknesses. He grabbed her neck, hard enough to force her to the floor, soft enough just to keep her air passageways open. He pushed her down to the kitchen floor, holding a lighter in one hand. He pressed his arm across her, pulling her shirt up so her stomach was exposed. He whispered, "Why don't you behave anymore?"

Artemis felt desperate. She wanted a way out. How? She searched, looked, sought out. But no escape was found.

She began wiggling around on the floor, hoping it would make him get off.

"That won't do you any good, I'll just make it hurt more." Eric smiled deviously, tracing the lighter over her stomach.

Artemis stopped fighting, but her breathing was heavier then ever.

"Three. Two. One."

Eric lit the lighter and held it on Artemis's stomach, watching her eyes lit up in fear. Artemis felt it, and the longer he left it there, the worse it got. She did what her instincts told her, not her brain or her body. She screamed, and tears even slithered down her face.

"Stop! Please! I'll behave!"

He held it there longer, digging it into her skin. Artemis screamed even more. She had never felt something so painful before. He was breaking her inside and out.

"I don't like to be joked around with. He dragged the lighter, still on fire, across her stomach, making ugly marks all over, leaving skin everywhere.

Artemis screamed again, louder, begging for it to stop.

And he did, eventually. But the aftermath was worse. She curled into herself, easing the pain.

"Obey me." Eric said proudly. "Look at me! Look at me when I talk to you!" Artemis slowly turned on her side, facing Eric.

"I hate you." Artemis said without wind, tears glossing her face.

"I don't like tone. Not even from you." And her father, her own father, kicked her square in the stomach, leaving her back to come in direct contact with the wall.

Artemis winced, but didn't cry anymore. She looked up at him, then looked away.

* * *

Artemis knows he's far away now. She sits in her room in Mount Justice. It consists of a couch, a closet with her costume and civvies, some books and arrows and quivers. She hasn't had much time to make it comfy. She still has a scar leading across the top half of her body, which her uniform thankfully covers. The scar was beginning to form, the eventful night was just under a week ago. It was still noticeable. Still a part of her.

After returning form Bialya, Artemis headed straight to her room. She stripped off her old clothes from the mission and searched for a comfortable pair of civilian clothes. Shirt, sweats, socks should do.

Her door exploded open as she stood in her undergarments. Artemis jolted around, noticing the intruder. "Hey Artemis guess what-AH!" Wally ducked and shielded his eyes, avoiding a book that Artemis had thrown at him from across the room. He had noticed something strange though...An offensive bruise and a long scar lay across her upper half...Why?

He exited the room, remembering to ask her later.

* * *

Artemis took a mini nap on the couch, everyone else on the team was off doing something else. She made the speedster promise not to tell anyone about him seeing her indecent, and before he could ask his question about her scars, she was already asleep. Wally West was busy in the kitchen preparing food, which came as no surprise.

"Ugh! No! I hate you! Get off me!" Artemis had begun talking in her sleep. Wally looked over at her, he didn't like seeing her all...upset. Vulnerable. It was strange.

He began to approach her, moving carefully towards her, like a deer in a lion's den.

"Hey, Artemis, wake up." He nudged her arm softly, then shook it a little.

Still nightmaring.

"Artemis, come on! I have a whole new shipment of arrows for you!" He cooed, shaking her a little more.

Still nightmaring.

"Artemis, wake up!" He yell/talked, shaking her more forcefully.

"Ah! Get off me!" Artemis yelled, surprised to see Wally in front of her instead of Eric in front of her.

"Sorry...I was...uh...dreaming about a movie." Artemis said sheepishly and turned over.

Wally walked to the other side of the couch, so he was facing Artemis.

"What's with the scar on your stomach? Something you want to talk about?" Wally knew he was prying, but he couldn't see how else he would find out the truth.

"No." Artemis had changed position and was now sitting up on the couch. Wally took a seat next to her.

"Well, based on my quick analysis, you have a huge, ugly bruise and some kind of light scar across the area just below your breasts. I don't think that's something you can just not talk about." Wally's eyes sparkled a little as he looked at her intently.

"I don't think you care that much. Why does it matter to you?" Artemis challenged, she knew she could shut him up.

"If you don't tell me I'll tell Batman you did it. To yourself." Wally arched his eyebrow, as he watched Artemis's eyes grow with fear.

"Fine." Artemis sighed. "It's my...dad. He gets...aggressive. And on the couch, I was having a nightmare about it, about the night he gave me the..." She stopped there, trying to stifle tears that had already been falling.

"Your...father does this to you?" Wally couldn't imagine...he didn't want to...

Artemis nodded, deciding to just let the tears fall as they may.

Wally put his arm around her, and she cried into his shoulder for a very long time.

* * *

**This wasn't a work of true writing art, but I think I conveyed the story in a way that I am satisfied with. I had trouble accurately illustrating the scenes that weren't dialogue, definitely want to edit this up. It doesn't have a lot of fluff, I think I will continue this into chapters though. Thank you for reading!**


End file.
